Beverly Grove Homeless Encampment Cleared, But Residents Say Problems With Crime Have Not Gone Away
BEVERLY GROVE (CBSLA) — A homeless encampment has been cleared from a Beverly Grove street, more than a week after a homeless man was accused of a deadly stabbing, but neighbors said the problems have not gone away.
"We are on extremely high alert," Craig Brill, a Beverly Grove resident, said. "When you have people crawling on your property and going in your crawl spaces, I mean, that's terrifying."
Brill was referring to a man who was believed to be homeless who is suspected of fatally stabbing 31-year-old Gabriel Donnay before killing himself.
Brill interacted with the suspected killer before the attack, an exchange he said has left him haunted.
Then, on Tuesday, there was another crime reported right across from where Donnay lived.
"The guy from yesterday broke into that house," Brill said. "Witnesses saw him carrying stuff out, and he just went walking down the street with the stuff in broad daylight with everybody watching him."
The Los Angeles Police Department was called out and made an arrest.
And, on Wednesday morning, there was another incident and a man was arrested for trespassing.
The two crimes came just days after the homeless encampment was cleared, a shock to neighbors considering what the area in front of the Big 5 looked like before.
"I'm not sure how many took homes or took shelter, but it seems like most of the people there did not and have dispersed through the community," Brill said.
Councilman Paul Koretz said the city was working with the property owner to make sure the encampment does not come back.
"Doing more fencing around it so people can't get in, and asking for additional police patrols and the homeless outreach patrols," he said. "And, hopefully, all of that keeps the situation as it is now."
"It's not like we don't have compassion for what they're going through, we do," Brill said. "And that's why we want them off the streets, out of inhumane living conditions and to get the help that they need."
About 15 people were placed into temporary shelter, including Project Roomkey rooms. As for the people who did not want to leave, sources told CBS Los Angeles that nearby businesses paid them money to go somewhere else.
